Japan: Seven-year imprisonment sought for US soldier over sexual assault of minor

Japanese prosecutors have asked for a seven-year prison term for a US serviceman charged with kidnapping and raping an underage girl in Okinawa Prefecture, local media reported.

In their closing arguments at Naha District Court on Friday, public prosecutors said security camera footage and other evidence indicated that the defendant, Brennon Washington, 25, who belongs to the US Air Force's Kadena base in the island prefecture, knew the girl was under the age of 16, Xinhua news agency reported quoting Jiji Press.

According to the indictment dated March 27, the US Air Force member allegedly invited the girl to speak to him in his car at a park in the village of Yomitan on December 24, 2023, and drove her to his residence before committing indecent acts such as kissing and touching the lower half of the girl's body with the knowledge that she was under 16.

Okinawa hosts 70 per cent of all the US military bases in Japan while accounting for only 0.6 per cent of the country's total land area. Crimes committed by US service members and nonmilitary personnel have been a constant source of grievance for locals.